Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-12-25
DAILY HERALD.
~.,,ss ma. de Easy.

and taxation. 1t viii be read by hum
drsds OF thousands who, it is safe to
saw. have never before read anything
whatever about the tariff. The ele-
mentary form into which it is thrown,
too, will lead hundreds Of thousands
for the first time in their lives to think
of the tariff as subject with which
plain men, as we'll as statisticians and
manufacturers, are competent to Crap
pie. The President has made it a
question Of practical politics, and it is
through the discussion of questions of
practial politics that the American pee
Die familiarizes itself with the more re-
condite matters of government. 1t
was in this way that it was brought
so far TO understand the laws OF cur
rencv AS to make it easy for the Treas
ury to get back to specie payments.
II was in this way that the public
mind was cleared about the labor
problem" only two years ago. 1t will
be in this way that the burden OF tax
alton created by the war vii be final
~ cot rid Of now. Probably ten times
~ much will be done during the CON-
ing winter fol popular enlightenment
on this subject, through mere house
hold and newspaper discussion, than
cosid he effected in twenty years
through books, essays or lectures.
How much need there is Tor popu-
Lar education in this field has been
strikingly illustrated by Mr.. Blaine's
recent dispatch. How much he knows
on aay subject it is always difficult to
determine, because he is just as ready
TO AFFECT ignorance as knowledge when
il suits his purpose. Bat the chances
are that he does know that all inter
national trade is barter; that no ma
ton goes into the foreign market cash
in hand as the householder goes to
the butchers; that every nation
which buys goods pays in goods, and
that gold and silver are only used to
settle small balances when the years
accounts are made up. This is not
one OF the abstruse laws OF political
economy which are evolved in lecture
rooms from prolonged trains OF reason
Ing. It is one of the facts Of daily life
with which everybody engaged in for
eign trade is familiar, and which are
published every quarter in the Gus
tom-hot,se returns.
Nevertheless, Mr.. Blaine had no
hesitation in the dispatch in assum
ing that the American public were
ignorant Of it and could be persuaded
that it was possible for foreigners to
dispose of enormous quantities OF
their merchandise in this country
without taking away any American
merchandise in return. With his
usual looseness OF speech he even
went 80 far as to Indicate the kind OF
goods the foreigner would poar in on
us il DIR tariff were lowered in the
manner President Cleveland suggests,
without accepting either our manu-
factures or cur agricultural produce in
exchange. He probably did not know
exactly what he was saying when he
put The increase OF wooden, cotton
and iron. and steel goods we would
thus receive at "ten-fold" what any
possible increase in exports would be
but he said it, nevertheless,
Not only did he assume. however,
that bis public would not know that
international trade WAS barter, and
always and everywhere consists OF an
exchange of commodities, but he as
sGtned that none, at least of his Tri-
b,sas readers, would ask the simple
and almost child-like questions If
the foreigner sends us this immense
additional quantity Of goods, and will
not take either our manufactures or
crops in exchange for them, "How
are we going to pay for them? He
surely will not leave them with us
for nothing II he viii not take
goods. he must insist on getting
money, and where is the
money to come from ?" The
answer IS, OF course. that We have not
got The money and could not get it
anywhere, because we need all we
have for our domestic transactions,
fot, in fact, cur daily purchases and
sales. So that il we paid it out in
one gear for European goods, we
should have TO fall back on irredeem-
able paper for home use, and the
following year we should have nc
money to buy anything whatever from
the foreigner. Or course, after having
cleaned us out, the foreigner would
bring no more OF his goods here, any
more than a butcher would pursue
with his meat q customer who neye,
paid his bills.
But Mr.. Blaine presumed that his
suggestion would not be thought out
He presumed that it would be ac.
cepted in the old way as the answer
Of the protector OF American industry
10 the nefarious ideas oil "a free.
trader" and therefore not examined
infinitely. But this winter, thanks tc
MIR. Cleveland, this sort Of talk will be
examined infinitely by plain people.
The debate will no longer be confined
to manufacturers and college profes-
sors. 1t will 90 on in every farm.
house and workshop in the country
and it cannot 60 on without the re-
discovery OF the true nature of foreign
trade by the American people. And
when they realise thoroughly that i,
is barter, that the foreigner never
brings $1,000, 900, 900 Of goods here
as he did last year, without
takingT$6, 600 ,000, 900 worth away, one
other tact will be brought home tc
them with wonderful force and fresh
ness, namely, that under our present
tarif, every time the American ex
changes 800 worth OF his merchan
disc for 500 worth of the foreigner
merchandise, he has to pay $40 as {
kind Of toll, under the name O
duty" for the mere privilege O
making the trade. The $40 are no
added to the value of the foreign
goods; they are simply taken out o
che value OF his own so that every dol
lars worth Of the foreign goods cost.
him sl.4O. Plain people will ask thi.
winter, with eagerness they have never
displayed before. What are these
forty dollars for? What use is mads
Of them ?" They will be told tina
they are used in part to pay the Elk
penses OF the Government and il
A